"You still want me but you don't love me," Long Jinjing said, a sad smile on her face.
Lu Zihao didn't reply.
His silence was enough to prove that she was right. Her sad smile turned bitter. Tears filled her eyes but she fought them back. She didn't want to become a hot, sobbing mess in front of him again like what happened during their final days as a couple.
Besides, even though his silent admission meant that he didn't reciprocate her love for him and it was breaking her heart into another million pieces, she didn't want him to misunderstand her as the kind of woman who would use her tears to beg for a man's love and for him to stay with her. That would be too pathetic.
It hurt so much to not be loved back by the man that she loved but her lifetime happiness was more important for her than a momentary one. When she grew older, she wanted to have a happy family of her own—to be married to a loyal and loving husband while raising their children together.
This was her mother's unfulfilled dream and ultimately became Long Jinjing's dream as well. She wanted to show her mother that she wouldn't waste the love and education Sun Jingfei had given her or repeat the same mistakes her mother did in her youth. [Read official chapters on W e b n o v e l (dot) com. Please stop supporting piracy. Also follow author on Instagram: @arriacross]
If Lu Zihao couldn't give her—didn't want to give her the possible happy family that she wanted, then there was no point in trying again with him. She wanted to live her life with a purpose, not play around with a man who only wanted her for sex, and end up getting her heart broken again and again by the same man.
Her mind made up, she stood up from the bench and forced herself to look at Lu Zihao straight in the eyes. She wanted to avert her eyes because his gaze never failed to affect her but she stopped herself from doing so.
"No." Her voice was shaky but her determination was firm.
His lips pressed together into a thin line and Long Jinjing thought that she heard the faint sound of grinding teeth. He looked scary but she felt no fear for her safety when she was with him. In fact, she felt very safe with him. He was a very strong and capable man.
Her heart, however, was a different matter. He was a very dangerous man for her heart. He already broke it and could break it many times again if she let him. And she wouldn't allow him. Not again.
She finally averted her eyes and forced her voice to sound normal. "Is there anything else that you would like to say to me, Niko—Mr. Lu? If there's nothing, then please excuse me. It's already late. I still have to go to work early tomorrow."
"Mr. Lu? Is that how you're going to treat me now?"
She didn't answer and instead walked away. She wanted to run away, far away from him, to forget him and her love for him, and to protect her heart from his dangerously devilish masculine magnetism.
"Jinjing, wait." He grabbed her hand.
"Don't touch her, you asshole!" a furious female voice shouted from a distance.
Chen Fei came barrelling towards them in the hallway and looked like she wanted to murder Lu Zihao. "Let go of her, bastard!"
"Sis Fei!" Dom chased after her, not forgetting to stuff a potato chip in his mouth.
"Don't stop me, Dom!" Chen Fei said without looking back. She finally reached the two and grabbed Long Jinjing's arm from Lu Zihao before putting her best friend behind her in a protective stance.
"Xiao Fei…." Long Jinjing tried to stop her best friend but Chen Fei was like a triggered Mama Bear protecting her cub.
Chen Fei lunged at Lu Zihao and started hammering him with her small but fierce fists. "How dare you?! A scumbag like you needs to be beaten and taught a lesson! How dare you want Jinjing back when you don't even return her feelings?! What do you think of my friend? A whore that you can fuck whenever you feel like it?! Jerk! Asshole! Watch me beat you up and throw you in a deep pit of shit!"
The ruckus attracted the attention of other people. The hospital staff tried to intervene but Chen Fei was beside herself in anger. Jin Liwei's bodyguards and their Shadow Winds partners turned a blind eye after seeing Lu Zihao's silent warning to stay back.
"Xiao Fei, please stop it," Long Jinjing begged. "Dom, help me stop her."
The two of them tried pulling the furious Chen Fei away but she couldn't be stopped. She even lifted both her legs to kick Lu Zihao while Long Jinjing and Dom were holding each of her arms. Lu Zihao avoided the kick but didn't defend himself from her vicious poison tongue.
"What in the bloody world is happening here? I want to know!"
Hearing Grandpa Lu's booming voice reverberating throughout almost the entire hallway, Chen Fei finally stopped physically and verbally attacking Lu Zihao but continued to glare daggers at him. Both Long Jinjing and Dom felt relieved that she finally stopped.
"Grandpa Lu," Chen Fei greeted.
Ever since the old man glared at her when she was about to catch Iris' bouquet the day after the wedding, she began to feel afraid of Grandpa Lu. He could be quite scary. In the end, she was intimidated and quickly gave up on the wedding bouquet to allow her best friend Long Jinjing to catch it instead. Only then did Grandpa Lu's scary expression transformed into an ecstatic grin as if he didn't glare at her in the first place. Just remembering it made her shiver. She swore to herself never to offend the old man after that.
"Xiaofei, my girl! Why are you so angry? I want to know!" He didn't wait for her to reply but swept his sharp eyes on the scene instead. Then he pointed an angry finger at Lu Zihao. "Did you bully Jinjing my girl even though I just told you not to, you dunderhead?! Come here, you stinky boy! Let Grandpa spank you!"
First it was Chen Fei. Now it was Grandpa Lu.
Everyone was helpless as they could only watch the big man being hit like a naughty boy by his own grandfather.